Thanksgiving With The Family
by Earial13
Summary: Everyone comes over to the Charming's for Thanksgiving dinner, but will they be able to work (or eat) together?
1. In My Perfect World

**This was meant to be Henry's drabble in my Once drabble series, but it morphed into this instead. :)**

Thanksgiving With The Family

"Can you please pass the potatoes, Grandma?"

"Of course, Henry," Snow answered, handing over the requested dish. "Try some of Regina's lasagna, it's very good."

"Made just the way you like it." Regina interjected with a smile at her son.

"These cranberry pastries, who baked them?" Neal asked interestedly.

"They are bloody heavenly." Hook sighed in contentment, helping himself to his fourth turnover.

"Emma and I did." Charming said, nodding at his daughter from across the table. "Despite living in a castle, I can cook and still do occasionally." He finished with a grin.

Emma groaned in remembrance of the long day in the kitchen. "I never knew how hard bits of dough and fruit are to make."

"Well, they taste good." Belle assured her. "I was never much good at cooking myself; just reading about it doesn't always help."

"Amen, sister."

"Yes, you are all lucky you don't have to eat her cooking." Rumple teased.

"Hey, at least I didn't make the smoke alarm go off." Belle retorted, smiling up into his face.

"Annoying little devils… Why do you think we eat out all the time?" He asked the group at large.

"All it takes is common sense, logic, and a bit of cooking knowledge." Regina commented, serving herself some green bean casserole.

"Something not very many of us appear to have." Hook added jokingly, surveying the well-stocked table with a practiced eye.

"Well, thanks for having us over." Neal said to the resident prince and princess.

"We're glad you all could make it." Snow rejoined warmly.

"I have to admit, this is the first Thanksgiving in a long time I've truly enjoyed." Regina remarked sincerely.

"Same here." Emma agreed wholeheartedly.

Henry stood up, milk glass in hand. "Can I have your attention, please?" He asked as everyone's eyes turned toward him.

He cleared his throat before continuing. "I know you all have a lot of history, but at the end of the day, we're all family. I just wanted to thank you for putting aside your differences and coming here today. I'm so thankful I have you, and I love you all. This has been the best Thanksgiving ever, a toast to family!" He finished with a big classic Henry smile.

"To family!" Everyone cheered, until someone called out, "Group hug!"

The dinner culminated in eight various adults, each with immensely different backgrounds, crowding around the boy that had brought them together. 

Henry woke up with a gasp, glancing down at his covers and pajamas before settling back in bed with a sigh. It had only been a dream. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling fan as he mulled over the fictional family meal.

They could work together, if they tried, and as Mary Margaret said, 'There is always hope.' Henry smiled and turned over on his side as he drifted back to sleep. It had been a dream, but a good one nonetheless.


	2. Say What?

**So, I was going to leave this as a one shot, but then nahbois68, to whom this is now dedicated, gave me this idea for continuing the story. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these wonderful characters or Once**

The next day, Henry sat eating breakfast at Granny's with the Charming's, quietly contemplating his dream of the previous night. Thanksgiving was tomorrow, and no one had said anything or set any definite plans. Maybe, though, just maybe...

"Why so serious, Henry?" Charming asked, interrupting his thoughts upon noticing his grandson's relative silence.

The boy in question hesitated, glancing at Emma and Mary Margaret before announcing, "There's two things: first, I had a dream last night,"

"A lot of people do." Emma interjected with a grin.

"...second, I need to ask you all a favor..."

/

"A what?" Regina asked in disbelief, staring at the woman like she'd laid an egg.

"A Thanksgiving dinner." Emma repeated. "Henry had this dream, now he's got his heart set on it, and after what he's been through, the least we can do is work together to give him a happy holiday."

Regina pursed her lips reflectively before replying, "All right, if it's for Henry, I'll be there."

/

"Are you crazy?" Mr. Gold exclaimed in unbelieving tones as he stood in front of his shop.

"Rumple..." Belle warned rebukingly.

"...Miss Swan," He continued. "In light of our history, if there's one thing that would be in the proverbial recipe for disaster, it would be this."

"We worked together in Neverland to save him, we can do this too." Emma protested. "You're his grandfather, after all."

"Don't worry Emma, we'll come." Belle interjected with a smile, ignoring Gold's annoyed look.

/

"Dinner...with your family, love?" Hook quiered, smirking at the lady in front of him.

"It was Henry's idea," Emma sighed wearily. "He wants us all to be together for Thanksgiving."

"What's Thanksgiving?"

"Just say you'll come, please?" She asked imploringly.

Hook thought for a moment before flashing a grin. "Aye Swan, I wouldn't miss it."

/

"Will Hook be there?"

"Yes..." Emma said, her voice slightly edgy with exasperation. "But that doesn't have anything to do with it, Neal. This is about Henry having a special time, not our...relationship."

Neal looked out over the ocean, eyes shadowed from the dark memories in Neverland. "You know I want him to be happy." He spoke softly. "Of course I'll come; let's make sure we give him a day to remember."

/

"So, they're all coming?" Snow asked as undisguised surprise flitted across her face.

"Miracles of miracles." Charming agreed with an ironic smile. "We'll have to make this work somehow."

"Yup, so cross your fingers and hold your breath." Emma said, determination filling her demeanor. "Henry," She added as he walked up to the threesome. "This will definitely be a Thanksgiving unlike any other."

Henry grinned in delight, bouncing on the balls of his feet, eagerly anticipating the arrival of tomorrow.

**So, this chapter was more filler, but the next and last will have the family dinner in which I'm sure there will be plenty of chaos. :)**


	3. Reality

"_Good thing we don't have Thanksgiving in our land, cause that dinner would suck" ~Charming_

_Manhattan, Season Two_

Thanksgiving morning dawned bright and beautiful, despite the somewhat dubious air in the Charming household.

"If someone would've asked me what my worst nightmare is, it would be this." David whispered to his wife as they prepared the food in the kitchen.

"My guess is the scales will tip more towards controlled chaos." Mary Margaret returned in a hushed voice, glancing over her shoulder to check who was in hearing range. "It's for Henry though, so let's make the best of it."

"Emma, your turnovers are done!" The prince called as the oven released a high-pitched squeal.

Emma emerged from upstairs, still bedecked with the countless flour spots that marked her earlier battle with the cantankerous Dutch pastries. "Hopefully they taste fine." She sighed as she pulled the crispy treats from the stove. "They'll all be arriving soon."

/

"Well, we're glad you could make it." Charming responded, trying to sound sincere as he opened the door for Gold and Belle.

"Henry, will you help me get the food on the table?" Snow called from the kitchen.

"Sure." The boy then proceeded to pick up the steaming bowl of corn, unfortunately without the conventional hot pads.

"Ooh, hot hot hot hot." He muttered, hastily running over to the table and depositing the guilty dish on said piece of furniture with a bang, causing golden yellow kernels to fly.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly as he viewed the guests' vegetable-bespattered countenances.

"It's all right, Henry." Regina sighed as she swept stray kernels into her hand.

"The lad was simply endeavoring to feed us faster by airborne food." Hook stated, wiping cut corn from his guy liner-lined eyes.

After a quick clean up, the meal began in earnest, though not without its various hiccups. One could really not expect less from such a gathering.

/

"Who made these?" Mr. Gold asked, forcibly swallowing the chunk of dough while he gingerly pushed the platter of pastries from him as if they were poisoned. (He wasn't entirely sure they weren't.)

Hook unconsciously saved Emma from replying by unexpectedly choking on said turnover. Charming ran to get the pirate some water while Neal contemplated whether to administer the Heimlich to his rival, certain it would bring a degree of satisfaction.

The gratefully accepted drink soon came, putting an end to Hook's hacking as well as Neal's plans for an easy way to break someone's ribs.

"My apologies, everyone." The captain gasped as soon as oxygen was restored to his lungs.

"Almost lost you there." Belle joked, striving to lighten the heavy, and far from jovial, atmosphere.

"What a pity." Gold murmured under his breath.

"Oh, I forgot the green bean casserole; it's still in the oven." Mary Margaret exclaimed, getting up from her seat hurriedly as a distinct smell permeated the room.

A unmistakable 'pop' followed by a sizzling sound came from the kitchen almost as soon as the jinxed words left her mouth. She opened the oven door, gazed bleakly into its bean-strewn depths for a moment, then slowly shut it before grimly saying, "Right, would anyone like some potatoes instead?"

No one dared to refuse the domestically challenged matron.

"Try some of Regina's lasagna, Henry." Emma intervened, sensing the need for a distraction.

"Made just the way you like it." The chef smiled at her son.

"Thanks Mom."

"This pie is amazing." Charming commented off-topic, delving into the creamy caramel slice. "Who cooked this?"

"Right here." Neal indicated with a wave.

"You can bake?" Belle asked in surprise as she turned toward him.

"Who would've thought, right? I don't much, just when occasion calls."

On this slightly positive note, Henry cleared his throat to get the group's attention, glass of (chocolate!) milk in hand, as he rose from his chair.

"I'd like to say something," He began, pausing a moment as eight pairs of eyes locked on him.

"I asked you all to come here today to celebrate Thanksgiving with each other. I know you don't always get along, but the bottom line is: we're family, and family sticks together. I just wanted to thank you for putting aside your differences; I love you all so much. This has been the best Thanksgiving ever!" He finished definitely as he raised his glass. "A toast to our family!"

"To our family!" Everyone echoed as they all toasted in unison.

"We love you too, Henry." Someone added.

He smiled as his dream flashed through his head. "In that case…group hug!"

So the less-than-picture-perfect meal concluded with a picture-perfect ending: a widely different group of adults crowding around the small boy who had woven the threads of their lives and affections together.

/

Henry awoke suddenly, the breeze from his fan gently cooling his face as he took in his surroundings and fell to reflecting on today's dinner.

They, the adults, had by-passed their various backgrounds and worked together. It seemed there was 'always hope' for his family.

Henry sighed contentedly as he snuggled back under the covers. In spite of several mishaps, and far from the ideal dream dinner, the evening had turned out exactly how he'd wanted it to: everyone under the same roof as one big, happy, (and slightly dysfunctional) family. This was where he belonged; this was home, with those who loved him the most. That was a true happy ending.

**A/N:**_ Ta-da! It's done, and I hope I proved Charming wrong. Thanks for reading!_


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